5. ELECTRICITY AND RENEWABLES
Table 5.2 Proposed extension projects of interconnectors in Ireland
Proposed infrastructure |
Capacity |
Connecting |
Project |
Expected start |
|
(MW) |
countries |
promoter |
date |
|
|
|
|
|
Second North–South |
1 500 |
Ireland and the |
EirGrid |
2023 (planning |
interconnector (EU project of |
|
United Kingdom |
|
permission |
common interest) |
|
(Northern Ireland) |
|
received) |
|
|
|
|
|
Greenlink interconnector (EU |
500 |
Ireland and the |
Greenlink |
2023 |
project of common interest) |
|
United Kingdom |
|
|
|
|
(Wales) |
|
|
Celtic interconnector (EU project |
700 |
Ireland and France |
EirGrid |
2025 |
of common interest) |
|
|
|
|
Source: Country submission.
The National Policy Statement on Electricity Interconnection reflects the increasing importance of interconnection to national and EU policy. The statement outlines the drivers and benefits of interconnection and the potential impact electricity interconnection may have on the wider energy policy, market and system. The policy guides the CRU in determining its regulatory approach for electricity interconnections by setting out key policy parameters for consideration in the evaluation of interconnection projects. This will augment policy certainty for potential project developers.
Renewable electricity
Ireland is committed to reaching a share of renewable electricity of 40% by 2020 towards meeting its legally binding target of sourcing 16% of its total energy requirements from renewable sources under the 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive. Reaching the 2020 target for renewable electricity generation will be challenging on the current trajectory. Recent policy initiatives by the government could accelerate the build-up of renewable generation capacity and contribute to closing the gap to the 2020 target.
Ireland has been supporting the installation of renewable energy through three consecutive renewable energy feed-in tariff (REFIT) programmes. The REFIT objective is to offer certainty to renewable electricity generators by providing a minimum price for each unit electricity fed into the grid over a period of 15 years. The REFIT programmes are funded by the PSO. EUR 145 million is allocated to support 3 835 MW of installed renewable capacity in 2019. This is a significant reduction from the 2018 allocation of EUR 374 million for 3 317 MW capacity (CRU, 2018a).
REFIT 1 supports 1 450 MW of small and large-scale onshore wind, biomass and landfill gas and small hydro. REFIT 2 supports 4 000 MW of large and small-scale onshore wind, biomass landfill technologies and small hydro. REFIT 3 supports 310 MW of diverse biomass technologies, including anaerobic digestion (co-generation and non- co-generation), other biomass, biomass combustion and co-firing (with peat). All three programmes are now closed for new applications. Construction of the last installations under REFIT 2 is ongoing until the middle of 2019 and under REFIT 3 until the end of 2019. The original deadlines for construction were extended as several investors had problems in completing the planning permission procedures, including obtaining grid access.
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Enduring Connection Policy
The planning and grid connection process in Ireland can take several years to complete, as in most IEA countries. Applicants have frequently complained about the lengthy procedure to get a network connection. Connection to the transmission system is facilitated by a “gate procedure”. This is designed for generators above 40 MW capacity in which applications are grouped on a first-come, first-served basis, independent from the status of the project approval process. The decision of whether a project is accepted depends only on the date of its application.
The gate procedure was first established in 2004, and has provided significant levels of wind onto the system. The last gate procedure closed in 2009. A separate connection procedure was established in 2009 for certain smaller renewable and other innovative low-carbon technologies to connect to the system. However, this non-gate process quickly became oversubscribed, in recent years with many solar PV project applicants, as there were no preconditions for a grid connection.
This has resulted in many projects waiting to receive connection offers. The CRU stated that the total volume of applications amounted to 36 000 MW. However, it noted that many of those projects are possibly speculative in nature and could be holding up genuine projects from being realised (CRU, 2018d). The outstanding applications should be seen in the context of the total grid-connected installed capacity, the capacity of the transmission and distribution system, and the level of peak demand.
The CRU therefore launched a new connection policy, the Enduring Connection Policy (ECP). The first stage, ECP-1, opened on 27 April 2018 for all generating and storage technologies and closed on 28 May 2018. The key change in the ECP is that generators are now required to be “shovel ready”, meaning they have obtained a valid planning permission for their installation before they are eligible to apply for a grid connection. Alternatively, applicants that can provide certain DS3 ancillary system services are being prioritised as they offer needed system services. A 400 MW threshold for DS3 services was set based on advice from EirGrid on the volume of system services it might need to procure over the coming years to bring down curtailment levels. The successful applicants for the first ECP batch were announced in August 2018 and included 591 MW of projects with planning permission and 371 MW of DS3 applicants (EirGrid, 2018b). The CRU plans to invite applications for the second stage in 2020.
Renewable Electricity Support Scheme
The government is finalising details for a new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS). Its primary aim is meeting Ireland’s renewable energy contribution to the EU-wide target for 2030 of 32% of renewables in total final consumption. Key decisions relate to the diversity and scale of supporting commercial renewable technologies and the overall costs of the programme. While wind power is expected to account for the largest increase in renewable electricity generation, the RESS aims specifically to broaden the renewable technology mix in Ireland.
The RESS is expected to become operational in 2019, subject to receiving state aid clearance from the European Commission. The new programme has been developed in accordance with the 2014 EU state aid guidelines for national RESSs. Under these, support levels must be set through a competitive bidding process, an auction system. In addition, all new programmes should offer a premium in addition to the market prices,
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5. ELECTRICITY AND RENEWABLES
instead of setting a fixed price as under earlier programmes. The RESS will therefore see a series of renewable technology competitive auctions run throughout its lifetime. The RESS high-level design was approved by the government in July 2018 and contains an indicative auction roadmap. The exact quantities of new renewable generation capacity to be procured in each auction round will be informed by Ireland’s National Energy and Climate Plan for 2021-30. It is expected that the first auction in 2019 will invite bids for 1 000 gigawatt hours and that this will sharply increase for the second auction in 2020.
The RESS design includes a focus for increased community-based ownership of and participation in renewable energy installations, in line with the ambitions laid out in the 2015 Energy White Paper to involve citizens in the energy transition in Ireland. A distinct “community” category will be included in the second RESS auction, accounting for a maximum of 10% of the total capacity auctioned. The designated share will be reviewed regularly. The DCCAE will work with the CRU to identify measures to support and fasttrack community-led projects through the grid connection process (DCCAE, 2018b).
The government is developing a national policy for micro-generators and auto-producers that aims to deal with the challenges identified before designing a specific support programme for microgeneration. A pilot programme supporting solar PV installation and self-consumption among domestic consumers was launched in 2018. This focuses on the role of technology, including battery storage, and the impact of microgeneration on consumer’s energy behaviour. The findings will feed into the design of future phases for support for microgeneration.
Ocean energy prospects
Most wind power in Ireland is generated onshore (apart from a single 25 MW offshore windfarm operational since 2003), although the country has some of the best offshore renewable energy resources in the world. The potential is estimated at approximately 4 500 MW of fixed offshore wind and about 1 500 MW of wave and tidal generation (mainly wave), once technologies become commercially viable. The Irish government set out its policy for sustainable development of the country’s abundant offshore renewable energy resources in its 2014 Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan. The plan identified policy actions and enablers required for development of the sector. These included provision of increased funding for research, development and demonstration, introduction of an initial market support tariff and development of infrastructure.
However, a key obstacle needs to be resolved before these measures can be effective. A modern and coherent planning and consent framework does not exist for offshore renewable energy development beyond the foreshore area of 12 nautical miles. The Minister for Planning, Housing and Local Government has proposed new primary legislation to streamline the development consent process, including the onshore and offshore elements of strategic infrastructure developments. This legislation is progressing through the various legislative stages in the Oireachtas (the Irish Houses of Parliament).
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